Nathan Smith’s Garden Notes

Could there possibly be a more romantic word in the English language? Wine, candles… budget. For most of us it’s right up there with sorting out the recycling. In fact I’m guessing that half the readers saw the subject line and scrolled right on to something else. But for you, die hard reader I will continue.

You should know that I’d be happy to spend more than I could afford to make our place beautiful and to enjoy the process of its creation. I’m not sure there’s really a limit to what I could spend. I have visions of a stucco wall in front, some wrought iron work, permeable pavers to replace our driveway, new fencing in the back, a seating wall, fire features, fountains and, of course, dozens, no… hundreds of  giant, rare, specimen plants.

I didn’t make it past the stucco wall before my better half said, “Won’t that be expensive?” I backpedaled, “Well, not really… we’re just planning right now, it’s worth it to dream big, maybe we won’t do it all at once, but it’d be nice to do something and not have it be a temporary fix or something that we have to tear out in order to do what we really want to do.” She gave me the dubious look.

While I think she’s right in doubting my capacity for restraint when it comes to the garden, I do believe it’s possible with the careful application of expertise, foresight and time to start a fantastic garden with a modest investment.

My contractor colleagues will likely berate me for the piecemeal approach, and I acknowledge that creating a landscape all at once with labor crews and heavy equipment offers significant advantages in terms of efficiency.  However, considering the current economic environment, many are unable to comfortably afford the up front investment, despite the overall savings afforded by the all at once approach.

Creating a plan is essential, without it, it’s hard to know what goes where (or what grows where), but soon after (or in my case before) Buying and installing some plant material makes sense because:

• Plant material is inexpensive, really inexpensive, you could buy a tree the size of a telephone booth for the price of one month’s cellular service (depending on your provider and plan, in my case I think you could buy a tree the size of a Lincoln Navigator)

• Plants grow. It’s like the magic of compounding interest, a small investment in a plant can grow into a giant pain (if you’re not careful) or into a specimen that delights you at all times of the year.
• The cool season is the best time to plant. Cool temperatures minimize transplant shock and winter rains help irrigate young plants while they grow enough of a root system to withstand the stress of the hot, dry summer.

For a relatively modest price you can have junky stuff removed, the soil graded and amended (if necessary), plants installed, irrigated, and mulched or do it yourself. With careful planning a dream landscape can be growing into reality and providing a great deal of satisfaction while withered finances await an economic recovery. The big ticket items in landscape are paving, walls, structures, and lighting. Of course, it’s more difficult to install these items around existing plantings, but I’d argue that it’s worth the extra cost not to have to live with a crappy, dying bermuda grass lawn another season.